Diarmuid Masterson was sent off in Mullingar on Saturday evening as Longford went down limply against Kildare. It was his second sending off in a row and third of the year, but confusion surrounds the decision.
Late in the first half, he cut across Paul Cribbin with a very cynical trip.
The referee Derek O'Mahony displayed great leniency in not flashing a yellow card. Or rather he didn't. He may have just shown great forgetfulness.
After jotting down Masterson's offence, O'Mahony forgot to pluck the yellow card from his pocket. The assumption was that he had, somewhat absurdly, decided against booking him.
In the second half, Masterson was involved in an off-the-ball scuffle which saw one Kildare player end up on the ground. Jack Sheedy contended later on that Masterson had merely gone in to 'separate guys' and was not guilty of 'violent conduct'.
Masterson was shown a yellow card for the first time in the game. A second later he was shown a red card. He placed a plaintive hand on the ref's arm but was bundled off the pitch by teammates.
